DAVE Huzzey says he is learning from the Cowleys ‘every day’ after taking over as Colchester United’s new transition coach.

The former U’s first-team coach has worked alongside a number of senior head coaches at the club along with being academy manager and is now providing a pivotal link between the two roles, after embarking on a new role at Florence Park.

Huzzey had previously worked alongside Matty Etherington, Ben Garner and Wayne Brown, within Colchester’s first-team coaching set-up.

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Having briefly been away from the club following Etherington's dismissal at the start of the year, he is now assisting Danny and Nicky Cowley in helping the U’s youngsters who are on the cusp of the first team, hoping to break in.

Huzzey said: “They’ve been so inclusive, which I can only really thank them for.

“They’ve made me feel welcome, in a tough situation.

“It’s always a strange time, when the movements happen.

“Also, just to learn off them every day is key for me and I want to thank them for that.

Gazette: Dave Huzzey

“I’m really enjoying it - I’ve always been really welcomed at this football club.

“They understand that my passion is developing players and winning football games, so I don’t think there’s ever going to be anything other than that, in terms of us all working in the same direction.”

Huzzey arrived at Colchester as their academy manager in August, 2019.

Since then, he has worked within the first team set-up at the U’s in addition to their U’s under-21 set-up and presided over the side that booked their place in the Essex Senior Cup Final, last month.

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As transition coach, one of Huzzey’s roles is to assist with top-end recruitment for some of Colchester’s under-21 and loan players, providing advice on player development and coaching.

He added: “I’m going into a little bit of recruitment, a little bit of loans – we’ve got some really good loans out at the minute like Chay (Cooper), Gene (Kennedy), Al-Amin (Kazeem), Frankie Terry.

“I’m really enjoying having a bit of a look on all of the different departments and seeing if I can help in any way.”